Sparks fly in the night sky
by Master-Heywood-Allen
Summary: Small one-shot of Beacon's annual fireworks display. Falling Petals ensues. More fluff, nothing serious Wrote it pretty quickly, so hopefully it's not too bad (and if it is, well, sorry I guess. Feel free to berate me for those wasted minutes.)


"They're beautiful, aren't they." Cinder exclaimed to no one in particular, as another streak soared into the night sky.

She watched a multitude of explosions spread across the black backdrop, lighting up the hillside momentarily,before dissipating,the darkness returning.

She laid on the outskirts of the large group of students who sat watching the display. It was the annual celebration of The War's end, eighty years ago. Beacon, along with many of the other schools and cities, held displays such as this. The colorful explosions were both dazzlingly beautiful, and a celebration of the ideals of individualism and self- expression the war was fought for, much the same as the names held by many of the students watching.

"Yeah Cinder, they're really something" Emerald replied, unenthused.

"Sure glad you dragged us both out here" Mercury commented, not to be outdone.

"We can't spend all of our time between our classes and our dorm room, scheming." Cinder replied reproachfully to her two associates. "Besides, everyone in the school comes out to see this. It'd be suspicious if we didn't show up, and Oum knows we need to draw more attention to ourselves, the way you two strut around the campus."

"Yeah, you're one to talk, Ms. Bumps-into-Ruby-Rose-every-chance-she-gets." Mercury retorted, a smirk spreading across his face.

"You watch your tongue. I merely believe she has talent, and as young and naive as she is, we may be able to recruit her to our side."

"C'mon, you know she's too nice to ever hurt people. Just admit you think she's cute." Emerald interjected, re-entering the conversation.

"That's enough out of you two. Now quiet down and enjoy the fireworks."

"Yes mistress. Right away, mistress." Mercury and Emerald responded in unison, the derision in their voices palpable.

"Sometimes I wonder why I ever recruited those two" Cinder muttered under her breath, standing up and walking further towards the outskirts, leaving the two to bicker between themselves.

While she wandered, another projectile soared into the night sky, a shimmering display of gold being released.

As the firework launched a gold tint across the lawn, Cinder heard a strange sound, as if someone had yelled from far away.

Before she could react, she heard another yell, much closer this time.

"Cinder!", the young voice screamed, and as she turned towards the source,a figure suddenly appeared beside her, accompanied by a cloud of rose petals.

"Ruby?! I-is that you?" Cinder sputtered out in the general direction of the figure, the light from the rocket having faded.

"Yeah, it's me. I'm right here" she added, placing a hand on Cinder's shoulder.

Cinder was thankful that the darkness still shrouded them, serving to hide her blush.

"So, what are you doing here?", Ruby asked.

Cinder had to quickly suppress her desire to reply sarcastically, instead opting for the sweeter approach.

"Oh y'know, just enjoying the show. What about you? Are you here with your teammates?" She inquired, hopeful that she was alone.

"Oh, no. They said they'd come out later, but I wanted to come out and catch as much as I could. We agreed to just meet up back at the dorms afterwards. How about you?"

"Uhh, nope, I'm out here by myself. They said that it wouldn't be the same seeing it here and not at Haven.", Cinder replied, proud of her lie.

"Oh. Well, you wanna watch together? We could sit on my cloak." Ruby added, undoing the clasps around her neck.

"Yeah, that'd be ok, I guess." Cinder replied, attempting to hide her excitement.

"Oh, well, if you don't want to..." Ruby began, trailing off.

"No, no, I'd love to watch the fireworks with you!" Cinder quickly amended, careful not to lose her chance.

"I've just got to go grab a few things from my old spot. Why don't you get comfy, and I'll be back in a minute."

"You wan't me to tag along?" Ruby asked,eager not to lose **her** chance either.

"No",Cinder hastily answered, "I'll be fine. I won't be gone but a minute, promise. Just stay here and make yourself comfortable."

"B-but, how will you find your way back to me?"

"Your not the only one with a semblance, remember?" Cinder teased, as a small flame erupted from her palm and lit the immediate surroundings.

"Don't worry. I'll be right back." she insisted, as she turned and began to retrace her steps.

Upon her return to her group, Emerald and Mercury were engaged in a back-and-forth insult competition, although the two had moved noticeably closer together.

"Hey, why don't you two head back to the dorm", Cinder interrupted.

"What? Not ten minutes ago you were ranting about how important it was for us to be here" Emerald said inquisitively "Now you're trying to ditch us?"

"Yeah, well, I don't want you two bringing down my enjoyment of the show with your snarky comments." Cinder replied, slighlty accusatory.

"So you two can stay here or head back to the room, but I'm going to another spot for a little peace and quiet."she finished haughtily.

"Okay, okay. You wanna head back to the dorm?"

"Sure, might as well." Mercury answered, stepping up and extending his hand to Emerald, helping her to her feet.

"I'll be back at the dorm later", Cinder called after the two retreating figures. Still holding hands, she noticed, a thin smirk across her face. _I knew it_

She then turned back around and retraced her steps for the second time. Shortly thereafter, she came upon the spot she had left Ruby in.

"Hey, you're back!" the young girl said, Cinder's flame reflected in her smile.

"I told you I'd return.", Cinder replied, reclining upon the cloak and extinguishing her flame.

"I know" Ruby added, a tad sheepishly, as she looked down at her hands, before looking back up and tilting her head.

"Hey-Where's all your stuff?", the confused girl asked.

"Oh, ummm" Cinder began, stalling for time. "I, uh, couldn't find where I had left it all."

"Oh, well do you want me to go help you look for it" Ruby offered, starting to get up.

"No, no, don't worry about it" Cinder responded, placing a hand on Ruby's shoulder to stop her rising.

"It wasn't anything important anyway.", she added, her hand slipping back down onto the cloak as Ruby lowered herself. As she did, her hand landed on top of Cinder's, though neither moved theirs away.

Another volley of missiles was launched into the sky, unleashing a sequence of explosions which washed over the two.

"Oh, they're beautiful, aren't they!" Ruby commented excitedly. "And the view is great!"

"Yeah", Cinder replied slowly, turning from the sky and looking into the silver eyes next to her. "It really is."

* * *

 **AN:** This is just a short one- shot I wrote pretty quickly. I hope it's not too bad as far as OOC-ness or anything. It's also based off the prompt for the July moncon on r/RWBY


End file.
